"The old man or portrait of Carmelo" Drawing

Artist Statement As a chemist and artist, I am especially interested in what constitutes reality. Modern physics teaches us that absolute reality does not exist. An observer cannot explore reality from the outside, she has to get involved. Reality is relational, subjective, and the observer is an essential part of it. This is the conceptional background of all of my works. I aim to make deep contact with reality through an artistic approach that is direct, unfiltered, intense and unpremeditated. I do not want to paint what I know; I want to know what I paint. I do not intend to transmit feelings as an expressionist artist would do, but to provide a catalyst for the viewer to engage in a conversation. Life is not only mental and it is not only emotional, which is what led me to find an approach of fusion that I call “Catalysism”. We need all our senses and mental power to explore reality, but these are different in all human beings. So must be their conclusions and their perception of reality. This openness also explains the variety of reactions to my work. People often tell me that they feel attracted and disturbed at the same time. They conceive my work as very personal and extremely honest. But yet it is full of references to Art history, from cave painting to conceptional art.